8 Family-friendly Halloween Activities in Petaluma

One of the best times to visit Petaluma is in October, when the weather is still warm, the pumpkins are ripe, the trees are gold and red, and the town is abuzz with spooky family fun. Where else can you get lost for hours in a corn maze, trick or treat from a paddle board, or enjoy a Hogwarts feast? Read on to learn more about the many family-friendly Halloween activities in Petaluma.       

1. Petaluma Pumpkin Patch & Amazing Corn Maze

This 32-year-old pumpkin patch’s maze is so much fun, it draws families from throughout the county and slows traffic on the freeway. You can spend hours lost in the maze or use a map to find your way. Even with the map, you can find yourself lost. There’s always someone available to show you the way, if you’re no longer giggling when you keep running into the same people or amused by recognizing that same switchback. You’ll be king of the hill when you reach the center and climb the stairs to look out over the folks still wandering around. On Friday and Saturday nights, the maze stays open late. Bring your flashlight and get to the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch & Amazing Corn Maze before 9:30 pm for spooky Halloween fun.

You can also find the perfect pumpkin and enjoy harvest- and Halloween-themed treats.

2. Pronzini Pumpkin Patch

Pronzini Pumpkin Patch features hayrides, bounce houses, face painting, farm animals, corn-kernel pit and slide, corn hole, hay maze, horseshoes, roping, steer toss, and a hay tower. On weekends, you can grab a warm beverage and a pastry at the Cowgirl Café and the family fun gets even better with live music and pony rides.

3. Pumpkins on Pikes

Tara Firma Farms hosts Pumpkins on Pikes on two October weekends. Imagine a field of jack-o-lanterns sitting, lit and spooky, atop a raised platform. It’s a sight! The event also includes live music, a maze, pumpkin carving (pumpkin included in ticket price) and refreshments. These events sell out fast, so reserve your tickets early.

4. Witches & Wizards on the Water

Do you love to paddleboard or row your boat? Love to dress up? This is trick or treating reimagined! Join the fun for the annual community paddle event, Witches & Wizards on The Water on October 26. Dress up as a witch, wizard, ghoul, goblin, or any creepy costume to enter The Floathouse Petaluma’s costume contest for a chance to win prizes in a variety of categories. Riverside businesses and organizations will hand out goodies along the Trick-or-Treat Water Trail.   

You can bring your own (people-powered) boats and paddle boards or rent a watercraft from the Floathouse.

5. Downtown Merchants Halloween Trick or Treat Trail

Pack the costumes or find new ones in Petaluma, then bring your goblins, witches, princesses and pirates downtown on Halloween (October 31) for Petaluma’s safe Trick or Treat Trail, hosted by more than 70 Petaluma merchants. This kid-friendly event begins at 3:00 pm and lasts till 5:30 pm.   

Learn more on the Petaluma Downtown Association’s Trick or Treat Trail page and download the map there after October 20. Participating merchants will also have signage to indicate participation. 

6. Pop-Up Boo-tiques Market

On October 19, bring the kids and even the dog to Barn5400 (5400 Old Redwood Hwy) to find local, handcrafted items and enjoy live music and seasonal spooky treats. Hours for Pumpkins + Pop-Up Boo-tiques Market are 10:00 am – 02:00 pm.

7. Annual Cemetery Walk

Are you brave enough for a spooky cemetery stroll? On October 19, the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum invites you to join the Petalumans of Yesteryear, decked in their 19th-century finest as the cemetery’s residents, from notable to notorious, including Lyman Byce, Addie Atwater, and Ida Belle McNear. Beside their graves, during the Annual Cemetery Walk, you’ll hear colorful stories about their lives and deaths.

8. Hogwarts Mystical Dinner

Harry Potter fans and anglophiles will especially love this family feast on October 26 at Hermann Sons Hall. The dinner includes traditional English favorites and Hogwarts classics (like chocolate frogs and homemade butter beer). Dress in your house colors, as your favorite Harry Potter character, or come as you are. Reservations are required for this Tudor Rose event. Cash-only bar also available.

Visit Petaluma for Spooky Family Fun!

With so much to do in Petaluma in October, it’s a great time to visit, grab a pumpkin or a pumpkin latte, trick or treat, or enjoy a Hogwarts feast. While you’re here, you can also catch an Octoberfest celebration, or you can take advantage of this fall’s unseasonably warm weather exploring Petaluma’s many picturesque hiking trails or whale watching at the coast. Book now, before these events pass you by.